Presentation

The only thing stopping software from being inclusive is the developers. Being inclusive is not a "bonus if we have enough time", but needs to be a core focus of a project from the earliest stage to the final product.

A large number of developers recognize this is an important issue, but don’t think they have the resources to do anything about it. If more developers did these things, they could increase their potential audience tremendously. This isn't about altruism, it's just good business practice.

Tobiah Zarlez from Microsoft will share what he has learned through his work with developers, as well as his own development experience. Attendees will take away 9 simple ideas that developers should know about when creating their software to greatly increase the inclusivity their final products. They will learn that inclusivity can be cheap and easy to integrate as long as these concepts are kept in mind from the beginning.

The Speaker(s)

Hi, I’m Tobiah. I’m an independent game developer from the SF Bay Area.
Right after college, I started a company called “Yobonja” with a couple of friends. We made dozens of games, and eventually had a hit with “Blast Monkeys”. We were the number one app on Android for 6+ months. I stopped tracking downloads in 2012 after we passed 12 million, and people still play it and its sequel today.
In 2013 I started working for Microsoft as a Game Evangelist. My job is to talk to developers, teach them what I know, and help them make better games and successful companies succeed.